Predominantly fast bowlers can be classified into two types – swing bowlers and seam bowlers. In addition, bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Morne Morkel specialize in doing both. Swing bowlers try to move the ball in the air and deceive the batsman, while seam bowlers rely on the pitch to make the ball move! The reason behind the success of England’s brothers of destruction- Anderson and Broad is this! Anderson is a swing bowler whereas Broad is more of a seam bowler, and when they bowl in tandem, the batsman has a lot of questions to answer.
Similar to the brothers of destruction, the Australian pace trio of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins have proven to be a nightmare for batsmen. Starc is famous for his deadly in-swinging delivery to the right handers and is good with angles. Hazlewood’ s strength lies in his ability to shape the delivery both ways, whereas Cummins’ strength lies in the hard length that he hits.
Another deadly duo of fast bowlers in world cricket currently are Trent Boult and Tim Southee. Both are predominantly swing bowlers. One is a left arm swing bowler and the other is a right arm bowler and angles make it difficult for the batsmen when they bowl in tandem.
The ball usually swings well in the first few overs of the test match when the ball is new. At that time, bowlers try to hit the good length to full length area and try to drive the batsman forward and play the shot. Another ploy that bowlers use would be to swing the ball out for a few deliveries, set up the batsman for the out-swinger and suddenly get one to nip in. It can also be done the other way around.
When the ball gets old, bowlers try to use the reverse swing to good effect and get most of the wickets bowled or LBW. The lengths tend to be a little fuller and bowlers try to attack the stumps more often. Another ploy that bowlers use with the old ball is bowling the bouncers for a few deliveries and suddenly bowling a reverse swinging yorker.
The different pitches also behave different. Pitches in the subcontinent are dusty and favor the spinners more. Whereas pitches in Australia and South Africa are hard greenish tracks. Once the batsmen get set, it is difficult to break the partnership. Pitches in New Zealand are mostly greenish wickets and is a heaven for fast bowlers. English pitches are weather dependent and they assist both fast bowlers as well as spinners as the pitch deteriorates.
Usually, the sub continental fast bowlers struggle in other parts of the world and vice versa. The reason that bowlers like Dale Steyn, Glenn McGrath and James Anderson were successful in Asia too is that their ability to vary their lengths and adjust to the conditions soon.
On the other side, Asian bowlers like Chaminda Vaas, Zaheer Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were successful outside Asia due to their ability to adapt well.
The third type of bowlers also known as medium pace bowlers, do not really come under the fast bowling group. They use the off cutters and the leg cutters more (usually similar to off breaks and leg breaks). They are more suited for the shorter formats than the longer ones. A bowler like DJ Bravo is a perfect example for such kind. Their strength is their variations and the ability to fox the batsmen with their deceptions.
Another type of bowlers are T20 specialists who have been growing recently. A bowler whom you can trust in the death overs and nails the yorkers well for six consecutive balls in an over may be called as a T20 specialist. They also use their variations to get the better of batsman in the death overs. Bowlers like Malinga, Bumrah, Natarajan, Archer and Rabada come under this category.
Hari's blogs! 